Colt sat on a bench with a coffee. Looking through glass at the first Mars lander. The whole dome built around it.

Under the ladder, the dust was patterned with a maze of footprints. One print had a sign beside it.

This is the first footprint on Mars. Preserved for all eternity. UNESCO heritage site. The city takes its name from this footprint.

"Mr Colt, isn't it?"

A woman's voice.

He looked up. Saw the frame of the woman from the gravity train.
"Yes. Mrs Winders," Colt said.
"Call me Nico." She sat down beside him. "I wondered if I'd see you again."
"Couldn't come to Mars and not look at First Footprint. Visitors' centre and all."

A tourist wandered under the ladder and spent too long taking a selfie.

"My husband says you're going back to Earth," Nico said. "He heard how you killed the people who stole the land train. Earth Office wanted to keep you. Offered you a deal."

They let that sit.

"Thank you for being discreet. How did you find me?" Nico asked.
"In your apartment, I saw a drawing of a woman driving a green digger. Not many projects use green diggers."
"Well, thank you. But what gave me away?"
"It took time. Little things. Like Winders taking me home when he saw I was looking for you. Odd thing to do for a stranger. By the way—does he know?"
"It's... complicated. We don't talk about it. If he does, he's never said. What gave me away?"
"I wondered who paid Noahs bill at the hotel. Why pay then why leave the phone behind. Then the woman in the Pitstop café photo—my scan turned her up."
Nico nodded. "You were always sharp. Even as a kid."
"Then I remembered what you said when you saw me—you've grown."
"That just slipped out. I thought I covered it."
"You did. Finally... the gonads."
Nico raised an eyebrow. Colt said, "Odd organs to steal. Never found your body with the others. The place was an organ-runner's den, so it threw me off for a while. Then I thought—you weren't a victim. You were a customer."
"Trans surgery's very illegal back home," Nico said. "Elsharif was the best. Lost his licence on the Moon over it. I promise I never knew about the other stuff."

"You could have told me."
"I thought about it. Jonas maybe wanted me to, but not in front of the kids. Then you vanished."
"Which is why Jonas gave me the job. Kept me close. Gave you time to think."
"I tried to warn you. You don't do hints."
"You could tell Aunt Gwen."

A chaffinch landed on the ground. Nico tossed it crumbs from a sandwich.

"You know Mom. She'd be ashamed. The whole community would turn on her." Colt said looking to Nico. 
"She still loves you."
"No. She still loves Noah. I'm not sure about me."
"You're wrong. She paid for me to come here. I have a ticket for you. We can go back together."
"And get locked in a Venezuelan men's megajail? You'd be obliged to report me."

Colt shrugged. "Governments change."
"Not fast enough. I don't see the Supreme Court giving me my rights back. Mom could lose her job."
"It's not as bad as you say."
"It'd break her heart."
"Her heart—or yours?"

Nico looked out past the dome. "Truth is, Mars gave me a second chance. I have a man I love. Two kids. A good job. A neighbourhood I like—even if it's on wheels. I love this planet. Here, people think about what could be, not what was. They care about what they leave behind, not what they've lost. Mars is harsh. She'll kill you if you disrespect her. But she's free. No laws, no bureaucracy. Just the duty you owe yourself. I can't turn my back on that. Mom used to say when someone gives you a free gift from the heart that it's rude not to take it and Mars has given me the gift of a new life.  "

"I get it. But maybe call your mother. Let her know you're OK."
"I've thought about it. Remember Mom kept saying sometimes we don't get to choose what gets broken. Just how long we live with the pieces. " 

Colt joined in with ' how we live with the pieces' and smiled. 

"These are my pieces Colt. For everyone's sake Noah's better off dead."

"Better off dead." Colt repeated "If that's how you want it. I won't force you."

Nico checked the time. "The kids will be back from school soon. I'm sorry you came for nothing. But I'm glad you came. It's good to see you, Nathan."
"You too. Look after yourself. Nico."
"No, you look after yourself. In high school, people voted you 'most likely to end up dead in a ravine.' Don't let that happen."
"I'll try."

"Have a good trip back, Mr Colt." She stood. "Hope you enjoyed Mars."
"You're safe. So yeah. It was worth it."

Nico walked to the travel-pod station. Dialled home. Sat down. Took out her phone.

Dear Mrs Cross, she typed. My name is Naomi Winders. I flew out to Mars on the same ship as your son Noah...